(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils (5-2) went 2-1 in the Gulf Coast Showcase over the holiday weekend.
The tournament in Estero, Florida, was the first real test of stamina for Charli Turner Thorne’s team this year, as the Sun Devils played three games in just three days.
On Friday, ASU picked up a comfortable 57-31 win over Maine. Maine’s 31 points were the fewest ASU has given up since Harvard scored 29 on December 14, 2015.
Sophomore guard Taya Hanson was the game’s leading scorer with 13 points, followed by sophomore forward Jayde Van Hyfte and freshman forward Eboni Walker who each contributed eight points. Van Hyfte also added a game-high seven rebounds.
The Sun Devils were powered by their defense, scoring 21 points on the Black Bears’ 23 turnovers, and were plus 15 on the glass (37-22).
Offensively, they went to the line 11 times, but only converted 6 times. They shot 38.3 percent from the field, and 35.7 percent from the three-point line.
ASU suffered their only loss of the tournament against then unbeaten Purdue on Saturday, 59-52.
The Sun Devils led by as many as 10 in the second quarter, and trailed by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Arizona State was once again led by Hanson who scored 10 points, and Kiara Russell, who also added 10 points.
Jayde Van Hyfte continued her work on the boards, grabbing 10 rebounds, including seven offensive.
But once again, ASU struggled shooting the ball. Though they went to the free throw line 26 times, the Sun Devils only converted on 15 attempts, and shot 18.8 percent from the 3-point line.
In their final matchup of the weekend, ASU edged out a gritty win against Middle Tennessee, 61-60.
ASU had a twelve-point lead, their largest lead of the game, at the start of the third quarter. Middle Tennessee mounted their comeback from there, scoring 22 points in the quarter.
Senior Robbi Ryan led the Sun Devils with 13 points and four rebounds, and sealed the deal with two free-throws with 29 seconds left in the game.
Freshman Sara Bejedi scored eight points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in the contest. Her classmate Sydnei Caldwell scored five points and had a team-high three steals.
Looking forward to the weekend, the Sun Devils will face 3-2 BYU on Friday, at Desert Financial Arena.
